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Buying a condominium in Thailand is the easiest and most secure form of property ownership for foreigners, however you can also own property by becoming a shareholder of a Thai company. It is important to get legal advice and hire a proper law firm before proceding in this direction.

Legal property ownership in Thailand

A foreigner in Thailand needs to have a valid immigration visa and do not have a criminal record to purchase property.

In Thailand, there are three ways a foreigner can own property:

1. Freehold,
2. Leasehold,
3. or Thai Limited Company.

Freehold – Foreigners can hold a freehold title in their own name. The Thai Land Office issues a title deed similar to a strata title and freehold property can be used as collateral in Thailand.

Condominiums are the only form of property a foreigner can own as a freehold. So it is a popular buying choice, and the easiest to obtain.

Leasehold – A foreigner can own a physical structure (property) as a Superficie or Usufruct entity, but the land it rests on is owned by a Thai national or Thai Limited company.

You can lease the ‘land’ for up to 30 years, with a possibility to extend it for up to 90 years.

The lease is registered with the Thai Land Office and if sold during this term, the new land owner takes over the existing lease.

During the term of the lease, you are responsible for maintaining the land and all structures

Thai Limited Company – Land and structures can be owned through a Thai Limited company.

A foreigner can be a shareholder in the company, but the company must have at least two Thai National shareholders who hold a majority share (51%). The company must conduct a legitimate business within Thailand or it can be unregistered.

Setting up a company is usually a straightforward process, However if you want to register a company with foreign shareholders the process start to be more complex as the Department of Business Development (DBD) will ask for more documentation such as bank certificates to certify the financial status of the shareholders and copies of evidence of the source of funds. The process becomes even more complex if the registered capital is over 5 million baht

Some lawyer firm might propose you to provide you with thai shareholders in order to setup the company, but we suggest you to ask a thai friend or a person of trust to become shareholder of the company.

It is also important to remember that even though a company can own the land and property it must operate the business outlined in the company business scope or it might be unregistered.

According to Siam Legal here the steps to register a private limited company in Thailand:

1. Reserve the Company Name

Can either submit the name reservation form at the Department of Business Development (DBD) or reserve online via DBD’s website. The approval process can take up to 1-3 business days. Once approved, the reserved name is only valid for 30 days without extension.

2. File a Memorandum of Association (MOA)

The Memorandum of Association declares the intention of the promoters to form a company and must include the following information:

• Approved company name
• Location of headquarter (the province where the headquarter is located)
• Objectives of the company
• Capital to be registered, number of shares, and their par value
• Name, address, age, occupation, and number of shares of each of the 3 shareholders
• Name, address, and age of 2 witnesses

3. Organize a Statutory Meeting and Purchasing of Shares

The Statutory Meeting includes the following:

• Approval of the Articles of Association (company’s regulations)
• Appointment of the company’s Board of Directors and the fixing of their authorities
• Appointment of an auditor to audit and certify the company’s financial statements

4. Company Registration

Within 3 months after the Statutory Meeting, the application for the company registration must be submitted to the DBD Office.

Once registered, the company registration certificate and the company affidavit will be issued. These certificates prove the company’s status as a registered juristic person under Thai law and can perform activities according to the objectives submitted.

5. Tax Registration

The company can simply use the juristic person registration number issued by DBD as its Tax ID. In terms of VAT, the registration is only compulsory once the company’s turnover exceeds 1.8 million Baht and shall be registered within 30 days from the date the threshold is surpassed.

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